Rob Cox and Carles Boix, professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton, discuss Scotland’s bid for independence and what a “yes” vote might mean for the rest of Europe.

Independence

Right to Self-Determination

]]>prova2@tactic.cat (Carles Boix)MediaThu, 18 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0200The Hurdles of a Third Way for Cataloniahttp://wilson.cat/en/mitjans-escrits/articles-dels-membres/item/236-the-hurdles-of-a-third-way-for-catalonia.html
http://wilson.cat/en/mitjans-escrits/articles-dels-membres/item/236-the-hurdles-of-a-third-way-for-catalonia.html

Written by Carles Boix and J. C. Major

In its May 5 editorial, the Financial Times once again urged Spanish authorities to work on a compromise aimed at solving the Catalan question. The same point has been made more or less explicitly by other international actors. Likewise, in Madrid as well as in Barcelona, some small but influential groups realize that the territorial arrangement now in place in Spain is unworkable and are calling, each in their own way, for a negotiated solution. Only this week, some have seen in the announcement of the Spanish king's abdication an opportunity to break the present impasse.

We would like to draw your attention to the article “Catalonia’s March Toward Self-Determination” recently published in Politique étrangère and written by Carles Boix, Princeton University Professor and member of Catalonia’s National Transition Advisory Council, and J. C. Major of Col.lectiu Emma. The article is part of a comprehensive report by the prestigious French journal on the self-determination processes of Catalonia, Scotland and Belgium in 2014, and the consequences for Europe.

As part of its electoral campaign based on fear and threats, the Spanish government insists that Catalonia would be automatically excluded from the European Union as soon as it became a sovereign state. The Rajoy government grounds its position on two articles of the EU Treaty. In the first place, article 4.2, which states that "the Union shall respect the essential functions of [the member states], including ensuring the territorial integrity of the State." In the second place, article 20, which states that "any person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union."